INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indianapolis Colts activated safety LaRon Landry from the exempt/commissioner permission list Tuesday.
They placed Landry, who returned from a four-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs on Oct. 27, on the exempt list last week and had until 4 p.m. Tuesday to take him off the list.
Coach Chuck Pagano made it clear in August that linebacker Robert Mathis would have immediately moved back into his starting position once he returned from his four-game suspension before his season eventually ended with a torn Achilles.
The same can't be said about Landry.
Pagano, when asked Tuesday, was vague about Landry's starting status.
"What we're going to do is kind of just stick with the plan," Pagano said. "Keep letting him get his legs underneath him. When we get back in here Monday, we'll just continue to put him there, see where he's at, evaluate him from a physical standpoint, mental standpoint. Any time you're away from the game and you're not out there for an extended period of time, it takes a little bit of time to get back. We'll just evaluate that situation on a daily basis and go from there."
Sergio Brown has started the past five games in Landry's absence. He had two pass deflections in Monday's victory over the New York Giants.
Pagano will have to decide if he wants to stick with the player the Colts went 4-1 with at safety or go back to the high-priced player who has yet to live up to the four-year, $24 million contract he signed in 2013.
"They both have instincts," Pagano said. "I'm not going to sit here and categorize one as a box safety more than a deep zone defender. I think they both have the skill set to play down in the box and to play deep."
The Colts also activated offensive tackle Xavier Nixon from the injured reserved/designated for return list Tuesday. To make room for Landry and Nixon on the roster, the Colts released cornerback Jalil Brown and tackle Jamon Meredith. They also waived fullback Stanley Havili from the reserved/physically unable to perform list after he failed a physical.
